A Hollow Life
by Lazy to Write
Summary: The final conversation between Yuan and Kratos before Derris Kharlan left the communication range and the respective reflections of the two angels. Sort of a prequel to my other crossover fic Fonic Interruption, could also be read alone.


A/N: This is a one shot for my TOA and TOS crossover fanfic **Fonic Interruption**. It is set to be two years before FI and could be treated as a prequel to it. It could also be read alone. Please also check FI out if you have the time.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk.

A Hollow Life

A half-elf with waist length blue hair tied up in a ponytail stood in a clearing that was filled in heavy fog near the Tower of Salvation, the tower that used to connect this world with Derris Kharlan, the purple planet that was made up mostly of mana, the life energy that was required for the survival of this world and the people on it and was now drifting further and further away from Aselia.

The half-elf, Yuan Ka-Fai, who in reality was an angel that had lived for more than four thousand years, was previously one of the Four Seraphim of Cruxis and the leader of Renegade and currently the guardian of the new World Tree Yggdrasill that was named after Martel Yggdrasill, his dead fiancée, and Mithos Yggdrasill, his dead would-be brother in law and previous leader of Cruxis.

He was facing a blank screen that was projected from a nearby machine onto the empty air.

_The time has come finally for the most dreaded conversation that I, no, the both of us had been avoiding._

He closed his eyes at the random noise emitted from the blank screen, waiting for the connection to be established.

_Although it was a long time ago, I still remember clearly our encounters as commanders of opposite armies and how we fought against each other as if it was yesterday. _He thought as his mind drifted back to the timeduring the Kharlan War four thousand years ago.

_It's funny how the both of us, together with the Yggdasill half-elf siblings, became the heroes that ended the Kharlan War and brought momentary peace to the world. How the three of us had changed following the death of Martel at the end of the war. We have been through so much, enduring hardship together under Mithos' rule and working separately behind his back to stop him. We were even at each other's throats literally at one point. I was really happy when we became friends again after you risked your life to help your son reunite the worlds. Howev-_

His thought was interrupted at the fading out of the random noise, signalling him that the connection was being established.

He opened his eyes and saw image started to form on the screen before him.

_However, this is the final time we can meet and chat with each other. After so long, we finally had to say our final goodbyes to each other. _He finished his previous thought and waited for the image to come into focus.

A man with wild red hair was seen on the screen as the image became clear. Yuan began to speak, but he was cut off as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Don't."

"I haven't said anything yet."

"I can tell from your expression. You are always the sentimental one."

"Correction, everyone is sentimental when compared to you."

Nothing was said after that. Yuan and the man on the screen stared at each other as if silently communicating through their eyes. After what seemed like eternity, Yuan broke his gaze and looked at the ground before him.

"So this is the last time we see each other." He drawled. His arms held stiff at his sides with his fists clenched.

"Yes. I believe we have been through this already."

Yuan looked up at his words and started, "Yes, but-"

"Both you and I have our own duties to perform."

Sighing, he tried relaxing his body to no avail and looked at the man on the screen in front of him tiredly.

"Sometimes I just don't understand how you could be so calm at times like this. No, scratch that, if I know you, which I sure do, you should have already regretted your decision sever-"

"Stop, I am sure you don't want to waste our last meeting arguing over things that could not be changed."

"You are right, Kratos, but since this is the last time we see each other, couldn't we skip our respective reports and just chat, like old times?"

"Yuan, stop being-"

"Damn it! I admit I'm an old sentimental fool! It is hard for me to grasp the concept that after this, I will be the only single man with four thousand years' worth of memory walking on this planet! Don't you have the feeling that something is amiss? Because I do, it is hard for me to just turn away from our friendship, a friendship that has endured even after all that we had been through!"

"No, I don't want to hear something as crappy as 'our memories will remain'." Yuan added immediately and stopped Kratos from speaking. "Damn right that _nothing_ but our memories will remain even though we still have an _eternity_ to live after this!"

His eyes became unfocused and seemed to be looking at a spot behind Kratos as he continued his speech. "Sometimes when I am alone during sleepless nights, I regret not being able to stop you from leaving, sometimes I even regret not going with you. Yes, I have to look after the World Tree and its spirit as per my position as the guardian, but do you understand how hard it is for me especially when the spirit shares the same name, appearance and even memory as _her_?"

Kratos' gaze softened after his friend finished his ranting.

"I am sorry, Yuan. I may not share the same pain as you as I have closed off my heart for too long, but I do understand what it feels to suppress one's desire to be with their precious ones." A tinge of sadness could be heard in his tone.

"I-I'm sorry, Kratos, I didn't mean to-" Kratos held up his hand to cut off Yuan's word.

"What passed is past, there is nothing we could do now."

"...right, you are always right when it comes to emotional stuff... maybe it's my old age, I can't help but think of the what-ifs..." Yuan said, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Who knows, maybe Derris Kharlan would one day come across some planets with highly advanced civilisation allowing me to find a way to communicate with you." Kratos said as he shrugged.

"It isn't like you to say something like that... but thanks." Yuan said, smiling weakly at his friend's attempt to cheer him up.

"I just don't want to see you breaking down after trying so hard to imitate my 'apathetic, calculative and gloomy attitude'." Kratos said, laughter visible in his eyes.

"I am glad to hear that you still have your wits with you." Yuan smirked at Kratos.

"And I am glad to hear that you still have your cynical personality with you." Kratos said as he imitated Yuan's smirk.

Yuan sighed after a while and said, "We have wasted enough time."

"I wonder who's fault is that?"

He coughed at Kratos' playful tone and tried his best to ignore the amused look on the other man's face.

"Anyway, I think I should start my report by letting you know how Lloyd is doing." Yuan said and proceeded to inform Kratos of the recent events in Aselia.

After Yuan finished, Kratos began his own report on Derris Kharlan's situation. However, he was cut off halfway during his report by an alarm coming from the screen. He went somewhere off-screen and turned off the alarm before resuming his conversation with his friend.

"It seems we have finally reached the limit of the communication range."

"I see." Despite his heartbeat getting louder and louder, Yuan retained a calm outward appearance.

_And to think that at one point in time, I thought I had the resolve to kill you. How pathetic could I get? _He thought as a feeling of hollowness crept up on him at his friend's announcement that he had been dreading.

"From this point onward, we'll be swallowed up in the vast darkness of space."

"Then this is our final farewell. Are you sure you don't want Lloyd to know?"

"There is no need. Lloyd and I said our goodbyes before I left. My place is in the past. I am counting on you to look after the World Tree."

"Of course." _Although it is hard to be the protector of a spirit that looked the same as Martel, in a way, it is one of the last links I have to my past and to you, my best friend._

"Um..." A soft voice said.

"I thought you set up a barrier." Kratos said and narrowed his eyes, slightly alarmed.

"He's the Summon Spirit that I told you about. He is Ratatosk, the Summon Spirit we met back then. That's probably why the barrier didn't affect him." Yuan explained as his gaze drifted over to the blond haired youngster and the black 'cat' floating beside him.

"I'm sorry. It looks like I'm interrupting." The boy said in a soft voice while staring at his feet, feeling embarrassed at intruding what looked to be a private conversation.

"No, we are the ones who should apologise. It was we who betrayed your trust." Kratos said as he looked at the blond haired youngster, Emil Castagnier, who was in fact Ratatosk, the Lord of Monsters and the Summon Spirit of the Giant Kharlan Tree that was destroyed roughly four thousand years ago.

"Lord Ratatosk's memory of your past meeting is currently sealed." The black 'cat' floating beside Emil said.

"A Centurion. It's been quite a while." Kratos said as he held his gaze with the floating black 'cat', the Centurion of Darkness called Tenebrae, one of the most loyal Centurions of Ratatosk and mentor to Emil, the human side of the Summon Spirit.

"The world has changed a great deal while we were asleep." Tenebrae said.

"Indeed it has, but Lloyd and his friends seem to have straightened out all the problems we left behind." Kratos said.

"Who are you?" Emil asked.

"I am Kratos Aurion. I travel with Derris Kharlan into the depths."

"Kratos is an old companion of mine. I have kept him informed of what's transpired on this world since he left. And in turn he has done the same for me regarding our companions who have moved to Derris Kharlan." Yuan explained.

"Please do not mention anything about him to Lloyd or the others. In any case, this is the last contact he has with this world." He added as an afterthought.

"Yes." Emil said and nodded towards Yuan.

"I hear you and Lloyd are travelling together." Kratos stated.

"Yes. He's helped me a lot." Emil said, smiling towards Kratos at the mention of his friend.

"Please look after Lloyd and all of his friends."

"Yes!" Emil exclaimed with a look of determination.

"We are about to lose our communication link. I am afraid I must say goodbye." Kratos said. His gaze left Emil and fell on the blue haired angel for the last time.

"Farewell, Yuan Ka-Fai, my friend."

"Farewell, Kratos Aurion, my friend." Yuan said, his voice strong, though he was shaking inwardly, refusing to break down, especially in the presence of audience.

_It is at time like this I wonder what he is really thinking._ Yuan thought as he looked at the dissolving image of the red haired angel that would always be his best friend.

"What is Derris Kharlan?" Emil asked after Kratos' image vanished and the fog surrounding them cleared.

"It is the name of a world, very far away from ours. They say it is the native land of the Summon Spirits and elves. Right now, they are roaming the universe, looking for somewhere they can live in peace."

"So Kratos is on Derris Kharlan."

"Yes."

"I am not sure I totally understand, but I hope they find a place to live in peace."

"I do, as well."

With that said, Emil and Tenebrae started leaving the area. After the Summon Spirit and Centurion disappeared from his view, Yuan turned and looked back to the place where Kratos' image was last seen.

_You are my last companion from four thousand years ago, my last friend who shares with me all the memories and hardships that are most likely forgotten by most, if not all. I thought I understand what it means not being able to meet again as that always happens to me when those I hold dear die. However, this... it just isn't the same this time. _

He closed his eyes and remembered the time when he had to say goodbye to his other precious ones.

_When Martel died, you shared our grief and supported both me and Mithos. When Mithos, driven by the grief of losing his sister, became the tyrant Yggdrasill and later killed by Lloyd and his group, you were there to help me cope. This time... this time it feels like I am willingly letting go of a part of me... Sometimes I just hope I could pass the position as a guardian of the World Tree to someone else and left with you._

He looked up, as if searching for Derris Kharlan in the vastness of the sky.

_I am the only angel that remains, the only one on this planet that was cursed with an eternal life. That was the reason why I never bothered to form bonds with others, knowing that I would outlive them. Although your son convinced me to be more 'social' and I have become friend with him and a few others over the last two years, in a few decades, or a few centuries in the case of my elven and half-elven friends, I will be alone once again. _

The corner of his lips twitched upward as he recalled Lloyd's agitated reaction when he told him about being alone for the rest of his life.

_I could always make new friends like Lloyd suggested, but it hurts every time someone died of old age whereas I continued to live as an ageless being. And no bond I formed with others would ever be able to compare with the one I have with you. I know it is wishful thinking, but I really do hope __we could find a way to communicate with each other in the future._

With one final look at the empty space before him, he turned away and started towards the direction of the World Tree.

_Farewell, Kratos, my best friend that might very well be lost to me forever._

* * *

After the connection was lost, Kratos left the control room and went to the rooftop of the highest building. He sat on the edge of the building and overlooked Welgaia, the only city in Derris Kharlan. After a while, he looked up at the stars that filled the depths Derris Kharlan was in.

_No, Yuan, you aren't the only one feeling like this. I, too, am afraid of losing my life long companion and the only link I have with my home world and Lloyd, my only son. _Kratos thought, his hands shaking ever so slightly.

_However, as one of the last Seraphim, I have the duty to guide the remaining angels on this planet. _

His gaze fell on some random angels that were mindlessly walking along the streets of the lifeless city.

_I promised Lloyd that I would find a way to help the angels regain their true self and a home for them to live peacefully. _

At this, his mind drifted to the Key Crests that could help the angels regain their true self by suppressing some of the side effects caused by Cruxis Crystals.

Although Kratos didn't possess the carving skill of dwarves, he had studied the art of carving during his long life and knew enough to carve a Key Crest. The problem was that there wasn't enough material. Apparently someone, probably Mithos while in his crazed state, destroyed the storage before Lloyd and his group's final confrontation with the fallen hero.

He had to think of other means to help the angels. He was not an expert in magitechnology, the technology that became so advanced that it had exhausted the world's resources back in the Kharlan War, so he hadn't come up with anything yet.

He explained the situation to Yuan, who knew much more about magitechnology then he did. However, since Yuan was no biologist and only expert on things that required electricity to run, he couldn't help either.

_No matter, I have all the time in the world to find a way to help them. And if I couldn't do that... I will just have to spend an eternity in this vast darkness of space with lifeless angels as my only companions... yes, I understand where this is going when I chose to leave with Derris Kharlan... a true empty life..._

Realising that he was despairing, Kratos shook his head to rid of his thoughts.

_You are correct, Yuan, I really am a gloomy bastard that like to brood. _He smiled bitterly at his own thought.

_Less than an hour has passed and I am already thinking about you. It seems you aren't the only 'old sentimental fool'. _He thought as he looked down at his shaking hands.

_It was a good idea to keep it a secret from Lloyd. If this is how I look like from saying goodbye to you, then I don't want to know what will happen to me if I am to once again say goodbye to my son. _

He thought back to the time when Anna, his wife that he opened his heart to only to close off again when she died by his own hands, Lloyd, the son he thought lost for nearly fifteen years, and he were hiding from Cruxis.

_Though I guess it is different leaving the son I never had the chance to raise behind and leaving the friend that had been supporting me nearly my whole life behind._

He remembered how he became the living dead and mindless puppet to Mithos, believing that it was fine so long as Mithos promised that he would return the worlds to their original state as soon as Martel was revived, after losing his two most precious people.

He thought back the confrontation between him and Yuan after he lost his family.

** Flashback **

Footsteps could be heard approaching him from behind as he stood on the shore facing the sea.

"So you were there after all, Kratos." The voice said revealing it to be Yuan.

"Oh, Yuan. I can feel your intentions." Kratos said looking at the waves hitting the shore.

"I didn't expect any less of you. You seem to know everything."

"If you say so..." Kratos trailed off, not wanting to say anything more than necessary.

"Everyone will lose their souls. This will be the result of Mithos's project of an age of lifeless beings. I don't care about what will happen to all those foolish humans. It might be the only way to seal their hatred. I don't care about them. However... this project means that Martel's soul will be tied to the Great Seed forever. She will continue to live in suffering. I cannot allow that. Help me, Kratos. Release Origin's seal. This will save Martel's soul, make the Giant Tree grow, and revive this planet. Am I wrong? Or... do you think that Mithos is right? "

"Who knows..." Kratos trailed off again, avoiding the question and not wanting to think of the rights and wrongs, at least not while he couldn't think of anything but his bloodstained hands that were full of Anna's blood.

"I don't plan on saying I am right. But, since nothing is perfect in this world, we should at least try do what is best. Think about it. Kratos!"

"I don't care! I don't have anyone left to protect in this world anymore. It has lost all its colours and its brightness to me now." Kratos turned towards Yuan and said agitatedly, his voice full of sorrow.

"Kratos! " Yuan stepped up to Kratos, held onto his shoulders and shouted to snap his friend out of his current state.

"Nothing matters to me anymore. Nothing at all. I don't care. I don't care anymore." Kratos said, his eyes dead and his voice getting softer and softer.

Yuan angrily took a step back from Kratos, summoned his swallow and posed to deliver the blow that would end Kratos' life and release Origin's seal.

However, even in the face of death by his friend's hand, Kratos remained emotionless and didn't move an inch, as if waiting for, even welcoming, Yuan to deal the final blow.

Seeing the look on the normally stoic man, Yuan angrily stabbed his double edged blade into the ground next to the expressionless man, not different from the countless lifeless angels, courtesy to Mithos, that reside in Derris Kharlan.

"There is no worth in killing you now. Kratos, you are... already dead." Yuan said, his voice cold and, though it is difficult to tell, his eyes filled with sorrow at seeing his friend's sorry state, and left Kratos to his own device.

** End Flashback **

_Even though we were enemies from time to time, you couldn't kill me when I was the most vulnerable. You even risked your own life to save me from the brink of death. _He thought as he recalled the time when he was sure he was falling to his death after releasing all his mana to release Origin's seal only to be caught by Yuan who then transferred his own mana, his own _life energy_, to save him.

"_You want him to live in eternal damnation?" _He remembered Yuan asking his son that question after he commented on how he failed to die again and Lloyd told him not to throw his life away.

_There is still much for the both of us to do. We do not have to live in 'eternal damnation' as you called it. If I could find purpose while staying in Derris Kharlan, you could also live a meaningful life in Aselia, the original world we lived in before Mithos separated them. I hope you could live a better life now that Sylvarant and Tethe'alla are reunited._

He had a faraway look in his eyes as he looked at the nothingness in front of him.

_Farewell, Yuan, my best friend and last link to the home I will never see again._

* * *

A/N: I couldn't help but include the side quest of Emil meeting Kratos and part of the drama CD "A Long Time Ago". Hope it didn't bore you to death rereading the side quest and the drama CD again.

I really liked the friendship between Kratos and Yuan. I think it is just simply amazing that they remain friends even after Yuan tried to kill Kratos so many times. I am also glad that it was Yuan who saved Kratos when others couldn't find a way to do so, once again signifying their unbreakable friendship.

To tell the truth, I was a bit sad when the TOS:KOR game was out and revealed that Yuan didn't go to Derris Kharlan with Kratos... I really wanted to include him in Fonic Interruption...


End file.
